Spinning reel having an anti-reverse mechanism

ABSTRACT

A spinning reel has a rotor mounted forwardly of a reel body, and an anti-reverse mechanism for preventing the rotor from rotating in a line unwinding direction. The anti-reverse mechanism includes teeth formed on an element rotatable with the rotor, and a stopper engageable with the teeth. When a force is applied to the rotor in the line unwinding direction, a brake mechanism applies a braking force to rotation of the rotor through a one-way clutch mechanism while allowing the rotation until the stopper engages one of the teeth. The anti-reverse mechanism also includes a switfching member operable to switch the stopper between a position engageable with the teeth and a position retracted from the teeth. A release mechanism cancels the braking force in response to an operation the switching member to retract the stopper from the teeth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to spinning reels. More particularly, theinvention relates to a spinning reel having an anti-reverse mechanismincluding teeth formed on a rotor mounted forwardly of a reel body or onan element rotatable with the rotor, and a stopper engageable with theteeth to prevent the rotor from rotating in a line unwinding directionwithout interfering with a rotation when said rotor is rotating in aline winding direction; and a one-way clutch mechanism of a rolling typefor acting on the rotor or the element rotatable with the rotor to allowthe rotor to rotate in a line winding direction.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many of the conventional spinning reels as noted above employ a ratchetwheel type anti-reverse mechanism having a stopper engageable with teethof a wheel. With this type of anti-reverse mechanism, a rolling typeone-way clutch mechanism, which is one of non-pawl types, is also usedin order to eliminate play in a direction of rotation (see JapaneseUtility Model Publication Kokai No. 64-38963, for example).

In use of a spinning reel in an actual situation for fishing certaintypes of fish, the angler often maintains the fishing line relaxedbefore a strike is felt and, upon a strike, attempts to hook the fish byswinging the rod. In this fishing mode, the anti-reverse mechanism orone-way clutch mechanism prevents unwinding of the fishing line, therebyto apply a tension to the fishing line, during the rod swingingoperation.

Thus, the anti-reverse mechanism or one-way clutch mechanism has afunction to prevent unwinding of the fishing line. A relatively heavyload acts on the anti-reverse mechanism or one-way clutch mechanism whenstruggling with a large fish with a drag mechanism allowed to slip.

Where the anti-reverse mechanism comprises the ratchet wheel type, theplay in the direction of rotation results not only in a delay in hookingtiming but in an intense shock occurring at a hooking time. It istherefore desirable to provide the rolling type one-way clutch mechanismas noted above.

However, while the rolling type one-way clutch mechanism has theadvantage of allowing little or no play, the known structure noted abovelacks in strength since the rollers have small areas of contact with ashaft or an outer race. Consequently, the one-way clutch mechanism couldbe damaged when a strong hooking operation is carried out in an attemptto catch a large fish. There is room for improvement.

Commercially available one-way clutch mechanisms capable of withstandinga relatively heavy load as noted above have large radial dimensions.Such one-way clutch mechanisms would render reels large and heavy, andare not suited for practical use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a spinning reel whichis compact while retaining the advantage of using a rolling type one-wayclutch mechanism, and is capable of reliably preventing unwinding of afishing line and operating a brake mechanism in an effective way.

The above object is fulfilled, according to the present invention, by aspinning reel comprising an anti-reverse mechanism including teethformed on a rotor mounted forwardly of a reel body or on an elementrotatable with the rotor, a stopper engageable with the teeth to preventthe rotor from rotating in a line unwinding direction, and a switchingmember for switching the stopper between a position for engaging theteeth and a position retracted from the teeth; a one-way clutchmechanism of a rolling type for acting on the rotor or the elementrotatable with the rotor to allow the rotor to rotate in a line windingdirection; a brake mechanism operable, when a force is applied to therotor to rotate the rotor in the line unwinding direction, to apply abraking force to rotation of the rotor through the one-way clutchmechanism while allowing the rotation until the stopper engages one ofthe teeth; and a release mechanism for canceling the braking force inresponse to an operation of the anti-reverse mechanism to retract thestopper from the teeth.

This construction has the following functions and effects:

When a tension of a fishing line is applied to the rotor and the elementrotatable with the rotor in the line unwinding direction, the rollingtype one-way clutch mechanism restrains rotation of the rotor andunwinding of the line. In the event of a strong tension of the fishingline, as when a large fish strikes, the brake mechanism slips to allowthe rotor to rotate in the line unwinding direction while under therestraint imposed by the one-way clutch mechanism. Such rotation andunwinding of the line are subsequently stopped in a positive way byengagement between the teeth and stopper of the anti-reverse mechanism.

Thus, this invention uses the anti-reverse mechanism and rolling typeone-way clutch mechanism, i.e. two mechanisms having differentcharacteristics, for preventing, without producing play, the rotor fromrotating in the line unwinding direction. The one-way clutch mechanismmay have a relatively small capacity as in the prior art, and yet withlittle possibility of damage.

When the anti-reverse mechanism is operated by the switching member toplace the stopper and teeth in the engageable position, the brakemechanism becomes operative to apply a braking force through the one-wayclutch mechanism against backward rotation of the rotor. When theanti-reverse mechanism is operated by the switching member to place thestopper and teeth in the non-engageable position, the release mechanismrenders the brake mechanism inoperative whereby no braking force isapplied to forward or backward rotation of the rotor.

Thus, the invention provides a spinning reel which is compact whileretaining the advantage of using a rolling type one-way clutchmechanism, and is capable of reliably preventing unwinding of a fishingline.

The brake mechanism is switchable between operative position andinoperative position by operating the switching member. Switching of thebrake mechanism requires no special control device nor a separateoperation therefor.

The release mechanism provided for the brake mechanism has the followingadvantage over the construction without such mechanism (as disclosed inJapanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-38380, for example). With thebraking force canceled, the rotor is reversible lightly. When a fishbites and pulls a bait, the rotor is rotatable without imparting aresistance, whereby the fish swallows the bait without suspicion. Thus,fishing results may be improved, with possibility of line twistingdiminished, by the way now devised of unwinding the fishing line uponreversal of the rotor.

The anti-reverse mechanism may include gear-like teeth formed on aposition inside the reel body of a transmission shaft for transmittingdrive to the rotor from a handle attached to the reel body, and astopper engageable with the teeth.

Where the anti-reverse mechanism includes gear-like teeth and a stopper,engagement between the gear-like teeth and stopper imparts a strongbraking force. Such a strong braking force is effective against a greatforce not manageable with the one-way clutch mechanism alone. Thisconstruction provides the advantage of allowing the one-way clutchmechanism to be small.

The anti-reverse mechanism may include teeth formed on an inner wall ofthe rotor, and a stopper engageable with the teeth.

Numerous teeth may be formed on the inner wall of the rotor at the sameintervals as when formed on the transmission shaft. This anti-reversemechanism is capable of stopping the rotor in fine phases of rotation.

The one-way clutch mechanism may include rollers or balls mountedbetween an inner race and an outer race, the inner race being fixedlymounted on a transmission shaft for driving the rotor, the outer raceincluding an engaging portion for receiving the braking force from thebrake mechanism.

With this construction, reversal of the rotor is checked by the brakingforce of the brake mechanism applied to stop movement of the outer race,which in turn stops rotation of the inner race and transmission shaft.This one-way clutch mechanism is compact while retaining the necessarystrength, compared with the case of being attached to the innerperipheral wall of the rotor.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view in vertical section of a spinning reel,

FIG. 2 is a side view in vertical section of an anti-reverse mechanismand a one-way clutch mechanism mounted on a sleeve shaft,

FIG. 3 is a front view in vertical section of the anti-reversemechanism,

FIG. 4 is a front view in vertical section of the one-way clutchmechanism comprising a rolling type,

FIG. 5 is a side view in vertical section of a spinning reel having ananti-reverse mechanism in a different embodiment,

FIG. 6 is a front view in vertical section of a rotor in forwardrotation with the anti-reverse mechanism in an operative position,

FIG. 7 is a front view in vertical section of the rotor prevented fromrotating backward by the anti-reverse mechanism,

FIG. 8 is a front view in vertical section of the anti-reverse mechanismin an inoperative position,

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a structure for supporting ascrew shaft and a guide pin,

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view showing limits of pivotal movement ofa pivotal arm,

FIG. 11 is a rear view in vertical section of a structure for fixing aline holding guide plate,

FIG. 12 is a front view of a brake mechanism in a further embodiment ofthe invention, with a rotor in forward rotation and an anti-reversemechanism in an operative position, and

FIG. 13 is a front view in vertical section of the anti-reversemechanism of FIG. 12 in an inoperative position.

FIG. 14 is a side view in vertical section illustrating an alternateembodiment of the invention wherein a one-way clutch using balls isshown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Spinning reels according to the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a spinning reel embodying the invention. This spinning reelincludes a handle 1 attached to a reel body 2, a rotor 4 carrying a bail3 and mounted on a forward portion of the reel body 2, and a spool 5connected to the forward portion of the reel body 2. The spinning reelfurther includes a line winding drive system for driving the rotor 4.This drive system includes a handle shaft 6 connected to the handle 1, adrive gear 7 driven by the handle shaft 6, a pinion gear 8, and a sleeveshaft 9 (one example of drive shaft). The reel also includes a drivesystem having an oscillating mechanism with an input gear 10, a screwshaft 11 and a slider 12 for converting drive from the pinion gear 8into a reciprocal motion for transmission to a spool shaft 13.

It is preferable that the bail 3 is formed of a shape memory alloy suchas a titanium-nickel alloy for, when deformed by an external force, thebail 3 then could be heated to regain an original shape.

As shown in FIGS. 2 through 3, the sleeve shaft 9 supports a ratchetwheel type anti-reverse mechanism A and a rolling type (non-pawl type)one-way clutch mechanism B for preventing the rotor 4 from rotating in adirection to unwind a fishing line. The anti-reverse mechanism Aincludes a wheel 14 having teeth 14A, and a stopper 15 for engaging theteeth 14A. The one-way clutch mechanism B includes an inner race 16, anouter race 17 and rollers 18.

The wheel 14 of the anti-reverse mechanism A is fixedly mounted on thesleeve shaft 9 acting as a transmission shaft. The stopper 15 issupported by the reel body 2 to be pivotable about a first axis 19, andbiased toward an engaging position by a spring 15A. The inner race 16 ofthe one-way clutch mechanism B is fixedly mounted on the sleeve shaft 9to be rotatable therewith. The outer race 17 acting as a stationarymember has a peripheral engaging portion. An arm 21 is supported by thereel body 2 to be pivotable about a second axis 22. The arm 21 includesa frictional retaining portion 20 for contacting the engaging portion toapply a frictional force against rotation of the outer race 17. A spring23 is provided to act as a biasing member to cause the frictionalretaining portion 20 to contact the peripheral engaging portion of theouter race 17. This construction forms a brake mechanism C. The stopper15 and frictional retaining portion 20 are switchable to respectiveinoperative positions by a cam 24 which is controllable by a lever 25extending outwardly of the reel body 2.

The cam 24 is rotatable in the direction of an arrow in FIG. 3 todepress rear ends of the stopper 15 and arm 21, thereby moving thestopper 15 away from the wheel 14, and the frictional retaining portion20 away from the outer race 17. The spring 23 has a biasing force tocause the frictional retaining portion 20 to slip before a force fromthe sleeve shaft 9 reaches a critical level to damage the rolling typeone-way clutch mechanism B.

As soon as a tension of the fishing line applies a force to rotate thesleeve shaft 9 in the direction to unwind the fishing line, the one-wayclutch mechanism B restrains the sleeve shaft 9 and prevents unwindingof the fishing line. When a large fish gives a strike, for example, theone-way clutch mechanism B is first operable to prevent unwinding of thefishing line. Subsequently, the frictional retaining portion 20 slips toallow the sleeve shaft 9 to rotate in the line unwinding direction toavoid damage to the one-way clutch mechanism B. The stopper 15 of theanti-reverse mechanism A engages the ratchet wheel 14 to stop rotationof the sleeve shaft 9 and reliably prevent unwinding of the fishingline. The arm 21 is pivotable with a switching operation of the cam 24to move between a position away from the outer race 17 of the one-wayclutch mechanism B and a position to press on the outer race 17. Thus,the cam 24 acts as a release mechanism for canceling the braking forceof the brake mechanism C.

A different embodiment will be described next.

This reel includes an anti-reverse mechanism A having teeth 4A formed onan inner peripheral wall of a rotor 4. The construction of anoscillating mechanism will be described first. As shown in FIGS. 5 and9, a guide pin 26 extends parallel to a screw shaft 11 for guiding aslider 12 meshed with the screw shaft 11 to be slidable with a spoolshaft 13. The screw shaft 11 extends between a rear inner wall 2A and anintermediate vertical wall 2B of the reel body 2. The screw shaft 11 issupported by a rear bush 27A fitted in the rear inner wall 2A, and afront bush 28A fitted in the vertical wall 2B. As seen from FIG. 9, eachof the front and rear bushes 28A and 27A defines a large hole 28B or 27Bfor receiving the screw shaft 11, and a small hole 28C or 27C forreceiving the guide pin 26, whereby the shaft 11 and pin 26 aremaintained parallel to each other.

A bail 3 is pivotable between an open, line unwinding position and aclosed, line winding position. An arm cam 29 and a pivotal arm 30provide different limits for the pivotal movement of the bail 3. Thatis, the pivotal arm 30 provides a large pivoting angle than the arm cam29. As shown in FIG. 10, the pivotal arm 30 includes a contact 30 A forcontacting an inner wall 4C of an arm 4D of the rotor 4. When the bail 4is opened and the arm cam 29 reaches a limit of pivotal movement, thecontact 30A of the pivotal arm 30 remains out of contact with the innerwall 4C of the arm 4D of the rotor 4. A roller of the arm cam 29 couldbe reversed if the contact 30A of the pivotal arm 30 contacted the innerwall 4C before the arm cam 29 reaches the limit of pivotal movement.However, the reversal of the roller is avoided since the arm cam 29reaches the limit first.

As shown in FIG. 11, a support pin 31 is erected on an inner wall of aspool 5, and a line holding guide plate 32 extending to a skirt 5A ofthe spool 5 is rigidly caulked to the guide plate 32. An engagingelement 33 is disposed adjacent the support pin 31 for producing aclicking sound. A spring 34 for biasing the engaging element 33 to aneutral position has one end thereof connected to the support pin 31.Thus, the support pin 31 acts as a mechanism for fixing the line holdingguide plate 32 and for engaging one end of the spring 34.

The anti-reverse mechanism A, a one-way clutch mechanism B and a brakemechanism C will be described next.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the one-way clutch mechanism B is mounted ona sleeve shaft 9. An arm 21 is provided which includes a frictionalretaining portion 20 for acting on the one-way clutch mechanism B. Therotor 4 has a forwardly recessed space defined in a rear surfacethereof, and engaging teeth 4A are formed equidistantly on a peripheralinner wall of the recessed space. The teeth 4A are engageable with astopper 15. The stopper 15 and arm 21 are biased in engaging andfriction applying directions.

With this construction, when a lever 25 is operated to set a cam 24 to aposition not to act on the stopper 15 or arm 21, as shown in FIGS. 6 and7, the stopper 15 and arm 21 become engageable under the forces ofbiasing springs. In this state, a cam 35 loosely mounted on the sleeveshaft 9 to be pivotable through a fixed angle lifts the other end 15B ofthe stopper 15 at a time of forward rotation, as shown in FIG. 6,thereby to switch the stopper 15 to an inoperative position. The arm 21has the frictional retaining portion 20 in pressure contact. At a timeof backward rotation, as shown in FIG. 7, the stopper 15 is engageablewith the teeth 4A, while the arm 21 maintains the frictional retainingportion 20 in the pressure contact.

Other embodiments will be described hereinafter.

(a) In practicing the present invention, the rolling type one-way clutchmechanism B may employ balls 118, for example, as shown in FIG. 14. Theone-way clutch mechanism B may have an outer race interlocked to thedrive shaft, with the inner race acting as a stationary element.

(b) The anti-reverse mechanism A, one-way clutch mechanism B and brakemechanism C may be modified as follows.

Their basic constructions are the same as in FIG. 6, and only differentpoints will be described. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the one-wayclutch mechanism B has an outer race 17 defining a gear 36, while an arm21 rotatably supports a driven gear 37 engageable with the gear 36. Africtional brake ring 38 is interposed between the driven gear 37 and anaxis supporting the driven gear 37. When the driven gear 37 in a brakedstate is meshed with the gear 36, the braking force is applied throughthe one-way clutch mechanism B to the sleeve shaft 9, thereby brakingthe rotor 4.

With this construction, the anti-reverse mechanism A and brake mechanismC are switchable with an operation of the cam 24.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spinning reel, comprising:a reel body; a rotorprovided on said reel body, said rotor including a sleeve shaftrotatable with said rotor; an anti-reverse mechanism for preventing saidrotor from rotating in a line unwinding direction, said anti-reversemechanism including:engaging teeth fixed on said sleeve shaft; anengaging pawl supported on said reel body, said pawl being displaceablebetween an operative position engageable with said engaging teeth and aninoperative position disengaged from said engaging teeth; a brakemechanism for applying a braking force to rotation of said rotor in aline unwinding direction, said brake mechanism including a rolling typeone-way clutch mechanism mounted on said sleeve shaft; a selectormechanism switchable between a first mode in which said engaging pawl isplaced in said operative position and said brake mechanism is in acondition to apply a braking force, and a second mode in which saidengaging pawl is placed in said inoperative position and said brakemechanism is in a condition not to apply a braking force.
 2. A spinningreel as defined in claim 1, wherein said brake mechanism includes afirst gear formed on an outer periphery of said sleeve shaft and an armdisplaceably supported on said reel body, said arm has a driven gearengageable with said first gear, and said driven gear includes africtional brake ring interposed between said driven gear and a shaftsupporting said driven gear.
 3. A spinning reel as defined in claim 1,wherein said one-way clutch includes an outer race, an inner race, and aplurality of rolling bodies mounted between said outer race and saidinner race, wherein said inner race is fixed on said sleeve shaft, andsaid outer race includes an outer periphery to receive said brakingforce.
 4. A spinning reel as defined in claim 3, wherein said rollingbodies are rollers.
 5. A spinning reel as defined in claim 3, whereinsaid rolling bodies are balls.
 6. A spinning reel as defined in claim 1,wherein said selector mechanism includes a cam member operable by aswitching member disposed outwardly of said reel body.
 7. A spinningreel, comprising:a reel body; a rotor provided on said reel body, saidrotor including a sleeve shaft rotatable with said rotor; ananti-reverse mechanism for preventing said rotor from rotating in a lineunwinding direction, said anti-reverse mechanism including:engagingteeth fixed on said sleeve shaft; an engaging pawl supported on saidreel body, said pawl being displaceable between an operative positionengageable with said engaging teeth and an inoperative positiondisengaged from said engaging teeth; a brake mechanism for applying abraking force to rotation of said rotor in a line unwinding direction,said brake mechanism including a rolling type one-way clutch mechanismmounted on said sleeve shaft; a selector mechanism switchable between afirst mode in which said engaging pawl is placed in said operativeposition and said brake mechanism is in a condition to apply a brakingforce, and a second mode in which said engaging pawl is placed in saidinoperative position and said brake mechanism is in a condition not toapply a braking force, wherein said one-way clutch includes an outerrace, an inner race, and a plurality of rolling bodies mounted betweensaid outer race and said inner race, wherein said inner race is fixed onsaid sleeve shaft, and said outer race includes an outer periphery toreceive said braking force, wherein said one-way clutch includes anouter race, an inner race, and a plurality of rolling bodies mountedbetween said outer race and said inner race, wherein said inner race isfixed on said sleeve shaft, and said outer race includes an outerperiphery to receive said braking force, wherein said brake mechanismincludes an arm having a frictional retaining portion for applying africtional brake to rotation of said outer race, and a biasing means forpressing said frictional retaining portion to said outer race.
 8. Aspinning reel, comprising:a reel body; a rotor provided on said reelbody, said rotor including a sleeve shaft rotatable with said rotor; ananti-reverse mechanism and a friction brake mechanism juxtaposed alongsaid sleeve shaft for restricting rotation of said sleeve shaftcorresponding to a line unwinding direction of said rotor; (a) saidanti-reverse mechanism including;engaging teeth fixed on said sleeveshaft; and an engaging pawl supported on said reel body, said pawl beingdisplaceable between an operative position engageable with said engagingteeth and an inoperative position disengaged therefrom; (b) saidfriction brake mechanism including:a rolling type one-way clutchmechanism having:an inner race fixed on said sleeve shaft in ajuxtaposed fashion with said engaging teeth; an outer race mounted onsaid inner race, said outer race including an outer periphery; and aplurality of rolling bodies mounted between said inner race and saidouter race; and a brake arm supported on said reel body, said brake armbeing displaceable between an operative position frictionally engagedwith said outer periphery and an inoperative position disengagedtherefrom; a selector mechanism switchable between a first mode in whichsaid engaging pawl and said brake arm are simultaneously respectivelyplaced in their operative positions and a second mode in which saidengaging pawl and said brake arm are respectively placed in theirinoperative positions.
 9. A spinning reel as defined in claim 8, whereinsaid brake arm of said brake mechanism includes a frictional retainingportion for contacting said outer periphery of said outer race to applyfrictional braking to rotation of said sleeve shaft, and said brakemechanism includes a biasing means for pressing said frictionalretaining portion to said outer periphery.
 10. A spinning reel asdefined in claim 8, wherein said selector mechanism includes a cammember operable by a switching member disposed outwardly of said reelbody.
 11. A spinning reel as defined in claim 8, wherein said rollingbodies are rollers.
 12. A spinning reel as defined in claim 8, whereinsaid rolling bodies are balls.
 13. A spinning reel, comprising:a reelbody; a rotor provided on said reel body, said rotor including a sleeveshaft rotatable with said rotor; an anti-reverse mechanism forpreventing said rotor from rotating in a line unwinding direction, saidanti-reverse mechanism including:engaging teeth fixed on said sleeveshaft; an engaging pawl supported on said reel body, said pawl beingdisplaceable between an operative position engageable with said engagingteeth and an inoperative position disengaged from said engaging teeth; abrake mechanism for applying a braking force to rotation of said rotorin a line unwinding direction, said brake mechanism including a rollingtype one-way clutch mechanism mounted on said sleeve shaft; a selectormechanism having a cam switchable between a first mode in which saidengaging pawl is placed in said operative position by said cam and saidbrake mechanism is placed in a condition to apply a braking force bysaid cam, and a second mode in which said engaging pawl is placed insaid inoperative position by said cam and said brake mechanism is placedin a condition not to apply a braking force by said cam.
 14. A spinningreel as defined in claim 13, wherein said one-way clutch includes anouter race, an inner race, and a plurality of rolling bodies mountedbetween said outer race and said inner race, wherein said inner race isfixed on said sleeve shaft, and said outer race includes an outerperiphery to receive said braking force
 15. A spinning reel as definedin claim 14, wherein said brake mechanism includes an arm having africtional retaining portion for applying a frictional brake to rotationof said outer race, and a biasing means for pressing said frictionalretaining portion to aid outer race.
 16. A spinning reel as defined inclaim 14, wherein said rolling bodies are rollers.
 17. A spinning reelas defined in claim 14, wherein said rolling bodies are balls.
 18. Aspinning reel as defined in claim 13, wherein said cam is operable by aswitching member disposed outwardly of said reel body.
 19. A spinningreel as defined in claim 13, wherein said brake mechanism includes afirst gear formed on an outer periphery of said sleeve shaft and an armdisplaceably supported on said reel body, said arm has a driven gearengageable with said first gear, and said driven gear includes africtional brake ring interposed between said drive gear and a shaftsupporting said driven gear.